Artists
With roots planted firmly in his Asian heritage, technique and sensitivity honed by his schooling and experience in New York, and with a singular voice propelled by an intense desire for a more complete artistic expression, Jack combines formidable technique with a penchant for gentle, flowing lyricism that makes his music eminently appealing to both musicians and non-musicians alike on his latest release ‘ Asianergy'.
Jack's music always has the combination of jazz, Brazilian, Rhythm & Blues, pop, funk, and Asian influences which leaves a deep emotionally satisfying impact upon the listener.
Born in Seoul on September 2, 1966, Jack absorbed the sounds of rock guitar heroes such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Jeff Beck before discovering the jazzier sounds of Pat Metheny, Larry Coryell, and Miles Davis. At 17, he traveled to the United States to pursue his passion and later enrolled as a computer science major at Columbia University . A stint as a disc jockey at the well-known station WKCR-FM exposed him to an extraordinary breadth of jazz music. Being a student in New York allowed him to experience first hand the living legends of jazz in the city's renowned clubs, and also enabled him to study first-hand with such guitar luminaries as Larry Coryell, Emily Remler, Bill Connors, and John Scofield.
In 1991, Jack's first disc Poong-Un (Winds and Clouds), recorded with production partner Ed Maguire, was released by Warner Music, followed by tours of Korea and Hong Kong . In 1992, he released Magnolia Blossom (Warner Music) which evolved after an auspicious meeting with Brazilian guitarist and composer Toninho Horta. Following tours that year with his own band to Japan , Korea and Hong Kong, he visited Brazil with Toniho Horta, Europe with Chico Freeman's Brainstorm band, and Moscow as part of the Tri-Cultural Festival. 1993 release Gracefulee (Polydor K.K.) featured an expanded cast of stellar musicians, including saxophonist Alex Foster, drummer Gene Jackson, bassists David Dyson and James Genus, keyboardists Charles Blenzig and Rachel Z and percussionist Manolo Badrena. Jack was the featured soloist with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestrais Pops Concerts in the fall of i93. In 1994 Jack recorded Where My Heart Goes (Dae Hong Communication), which explored his Asian cultural heritage and grew from his fruitful collaboration with accomplished multi-instrumentalist Norihito Sumitomo, and featured such stellar musicians as keyboardist Gil Goldstein, bassist Mark Egan, and drummers Danny Gottlieb and Billy Kilson. In that time Jack toured Japan with saxophonist Takeshi Ito and produced Ito's Groove Island , T.K.Covers (East West Japan) and Toninho Horta's Foot On The Road (Polydor K.K.)
Recently, Jack has been working and performing with legendary pianist Bob James, with whom he has teamed up as the producer for Bob's Latest project, ‘Angels of Shanghai', a very special project with a group of incredibly talented Chinese Classical musicians in Shanghai . (to learn more on this project, please visit www.bobjames.com )
Taken from http://www.jacklee.co.kr/bio.htm
